All Forum Posts by: Christine T

I use paypal, and haven't had any issues in the three years I've rented the place.
erentpayment.com sounds interesting, I'll consider it for the next tenants.

Thank you all for your feedback, you made some great points. It would have been useful for me to provide more background, I just didn’t want my post to be a mile long.

The condo is in DC. I normally would have done month to month, as the property is in a desirable area, and the market in DC isn’t seasonal. But I’m in New England, and expecting my first child this winter, so wanted to minimize the risk of dealing with all the logistics of finding a tenant with 30 days notice if the timing is bad.

They say chances of leaving are really small – one of them is on a two year fellowship ending next summer, walking distance from the condo; the other has a temp contract that runs out late fall (which is why they want a door open, just in case). They’re strong tenants, and everything I read here is along the lines of keeping good tenants for as long as you can.

Come to think of it, I don’t want them to process the applications, credit checks, etc; just want them to facilitate getting a new tenant – being VERY available for showings, and talking up the place. :D Paul, I hope this would address the PM legality issue. They offered to do more of the legwork of placing ads, etc. But in the past, Craigslist worked perfectly well for me.

So, after absorbing more of your wisdom, I’ll reformulate my question to be “what would be the strongest and most advantageous language to include in the lease that would hold them accountable for facilitating getting a new tenantâ€. I don’t actually want them to get me the tenant, as I can process applications and screening long distance. I hope this makes more sense. Thank you all.

Edit: in the title, I meant to say "Holding tenants responsible for finding new tenants if they break the lease"

I rent long-distance to good tenants who want some flexibility in the coming year. I want them to sign a 1 yr lease and they wish to retain the option to break it without penalty if they help me find a new tenant (post ads, host open house and showings, etc.) If there’s no vacancy, no penalty for them and they get the deposit back. I am fine with that, but not quite sure what type of language to include in the lease to that effect. Also, I would like to ensure I have the option of raising the rent for new tenants (didn’t increase it at all for the current ones).

I hope some of you who have used this type of clauses in the lease can help me with suggestions. Thank you very much!